Baseball: Former Blue Wave to try out for Team USA

Former Riverhead baseball player Matt Crohan just finished his sophomore year at Winthrop University. (Credit: Winthrop Athletics)

After a standout sophomore season pitching for Winthrop University, Matt Crohan was selected to compete at the 2015 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Training Camp, the university announced Thursday.

Crohan, a 2013 Riverhead graduate, will be vying for one of approximately 12 available roster spots when he reports to Team USA Training Camp in Cary, N.C. June 18.

The USA team will play international scrimmages beginning June 22 against Chinese Taipei and Cuba. The team will also compete in the Americas Baseball Festival against the Canadian Senior National Team and the USA Baseball Pan American Games team. Those games are July 7 and 8 in Cary.

Crohan, a former Yastrzemski Award winner as the top baseball player in Suffolk County, compiled a 7-4 record this season for a Winthrop team that went 40-19. He posted a 3.05 ERA in 14 starts and was second on the team in strikeouts with 87. He allowed only 60 hits in 76 2/3 innings.

Crohan would become the first player from Winthrop to be selected for the team, the university said.

“This is a great honor for Matt to have a chance to compete for a roster spot on Team USA this summer,” said Winthrop coach Tom Riginos in a statement. “We are very proud of what he has accomplished and for all of his hard work.”

At Riverhead, Crohan dominated on the mound, culminating in a stellar senior season. He threw a pair of no-hitters and pitched 44 consecutive scoreless innings. He set a school record for strikeouts with 104 in 47 innings.

He is the only Blue Waves player to ever win the Yastrzemski Award, which has been given out since 1968.